HUNTSVILLE – Head women’s basketball coach Ravon Justice has finalized her coaching staff for the upcoming 2018-19 season, bringing in three seasoned coaches to join her for her first year at the helm of the program.

Joining Justice on staff are Brittany Mason, Anthony Anderson and Kira Carter. Mason comes to SHSU after being on staff with Justice at Prairie View, while Anderson was most recently on staff at UTRGV. Meanwhile, Carter joins the Kats after spending a year as an assistant at Milwaukee.

“We have hit the ground running, and completing the staff was a big priority early on,” Justice said upon announcing the staff. “We wanted to develop a relationship with the group and then get people excited about the upcoming season. That included doing our due diligence with recruiting the kids that were already here. It’s certainly been a whirlwind, but it’s been great. We are ready for July to really get started.”

This will be the third time that Justice and Mason have worked together on staff, having already done so at both Prairie View and at Houston. A native of LaPorte, Texas, Mason has spent two years at Texas A&M-Kingsville between stints at both PV and UH. That came after a four-year playing career for the Cougars.

While at Prairie View, Mason helped Justice resurrect the women’s basketball program. The Panthers had a school record five non-conference wins against teams from Conference USA, the Southland and MEAC in their first season, and went 11-2 at home. A year later Mason helped PV post a 12-6 record in the SWAC, improving five games from the year before and missing out on a league title by just one game.

As a senior, Mason played an integral role in helping lead the Cougars to a memorable and record-breaking season. Houston posted a 26-6 overall record and claimed a perfect 16-0 mark en route to making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2005.

Known for her stingy defense, Mason averaged a career-high 5.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game as a senior at Houston, playing in 119 career games, which ranks eighth in school history, with 70 starts. Mason also places ninth in the Houston record book in minutes played (2,578).

Mason graduated from Houston in August 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in health and followed up with a master’s of education with an emphasis in sports and fitness administration.

“I’m very pleased with my staff, each one of them. And I’m very glad that is complete,” Justice said. “Coach Mason has been with me the longest, so there is a ton of experience and camaraderie there. Anthony does a great job of recruiting and is well-known in Texas on both the high school and junior college circuits. Having him recruiting in Texas recruiting is very significant right now.”

Anderson comes to Huntsville after spending the past five seasons on staff at UTRGV, serving as recruiting coordinator in 2017-18 and helping the women’s basketball program to new heights. That included the program’s first winning season (19-15) and postseason appearance (WBI) in the Division I history of the program in 2014-15.

He helped them sustain that success by going 19-14 and reaching the WNIT in 2015-16, and then helping the team to a 19-14 record, its first postseason win, a spot in the WBI quarterfinals and the Preseason WNIT in 2016-17.

Anderson joined the UTRGV women’s staff after serving as an assistant coach on the men’s side at Lamar State College-Port Arthur where he helped the team to a 20-11 record in 2012-13. Prior to that he was on the men’s staff at Paul Quinn College in Dallas, doubling as both the associate head coach of the varsity team and the head coach of the JV.

A native of Slidell, La., Anderson also worked with the Louisiana Blue Chips AAU traveling team during the summers of 2011 and 2012, coaching the 17-and-under elite team. He played collegiately at FIU where he earned his degree in liberal arts in 2011, and most recently earned a Masters of Sports Science from the United States Sports Academy in 2018.

Justice completed her staff with the addition of Carter, who most recently was at Milwaukee and helped lead the Panthers to a 21-12 record in 2017-18. She joined the Panther staff after one season at Missouri S&T where she handled or assisted in seemingly all aspects of the program. She was responsible for all scouting, film work and game planning in addition to recruiting and travel.

“Kira is energetic and passionate about developing student-athletes,” Justice said. “She brings a ton of energy and positivity. She’ll have a lot to do with community service as well and trying to bridge the gap between our team and the rest of the community.”

Prior to her time with the Miners, Carter spent two years at Wabash Valley College where she helped the Warriors to a Region XXIV championship and an NJCAA Sweet 16 appearance in 2015. In all, she helped WVC to a 55-12 record in her two years with the team, helping coach three players to all-conference honors, including one as a NJCAA first team all-American.

Carter also spent time at Thomas College and with the AAU team Manzer Basketball Academy.

During her playing days she was a standout on the court at Oakland, appearing in 28 games as a freshman. She then transferred closer to home, earning first team all-conference and first team all-Region 24 honors at Wabash Valley College. Carter closed out her collegiate career at Coastal Carolina, starting 47 games with the Chanticleers.

A native of Indianapolis, Ind., Carter also spent a year overseas with BK Lokomotiva Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic and also earned a masters degree in sports leadership from Duquesne in 2015.